For Friends
by Joanther
Summary: Kaiba finally agreed to become friend with Yugi's group. Jounouchi was curious at first, but then he started feeling like he was falling out of place while Kaiba was closer with his friends. But the worst part was when Jounouchi found out about Kaiba and Yugi having a secret...
1. Chapter 1

**For Friends**

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Write by _Joanther_

Fandom: Yugioh

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh. Those characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi.

Rating: T

Genres: Romance, Drama

Pairing: eventually Kaiba/Jounouchi

Beta Reader: roseofnoonvale, dancing elf

Summary:

_Kaiba finally agreed to become friend with Yugi's group. Jounouchi was curious at first, but then he started feeling like he was falling out of place while Kaiba was closer with his friends. But the worst part was when Jounouchi found out about Kaiba and Yugi having a secret..._

-o0o-

**Chapter 1**

Jounouchi ran as fast as he could to the classroom. Because of the stupid part time job with its stupid overtime last night, he had come home very late and didn't sleep enough. He could swear he had just laid his back on the bed and close his eyes then the sun had risen. The night and morning went by so fast that it made Jounouchi has little time for rest. He was exhausted, but he was late for class too. That why, right now, he had to run even though his body was very tired.

Jounouchi made it just in time. When he got to the classroom, almost everyone was inside. Fortunately, the teacher still had not appeared. He sighed in relief and turned his attention to find his friends, but then his eyes widened. On the seat he usually sat was nobody other than Kaiba Seto sitting there, and he was talking with Yugi and his friends.

Okay, maybe he was dreaming, or that person wasn't Kaiba and just happening to be look like Kaiba. But then again, he remembered there were no other students who wore white uniform in Domino High School, or who had the neat brown hair and perfect blue eyes other than the rich CEO of KaibaCorp. So, he must be dreaming right? Maybe he was still in his bed and was sleeping, getting a bit more rest before the new day come. How he wished it was true...

Jounouchi walked behind his friends, still stunned and confused, uncertain wondering this was a dream or not. His friends didn't seem to notice his presence because they were too busy talking with Kaiba. Even Honda and Anzu enjoyed his company and they were laughing. Jounouchi threw Kaiba a dirty glare before making a sound to let his friends know he was here. The tri-color haired boy then turned around to greet him, "Jounouchi-kun. Good morning."

"Morning, Yugi," Jounouchi said, but still glared at the brunet. "What is _he_ doing here?" He snapped.

"Kaiba finally accepted our friendship," Yugi said with a happy smile. "We were talking, you know. He can be really fun to talk with. Honda and Anzu agreed with me too."

Jounouchi blinked and then stared at his best friend's face. Since '_other_ Yugi' – Atemu went to Afterlife more than six months ago, Yugi was always in a deep depressing mood; even Jounouchi had done a lot of things to try to make him happy again but with no success. He smiled less than before, and always forced himself to smile to make his friends worry less. It hurt Jounouchi everytime he watching Yugi like that, but it also made Jounouchi feel useless when he knew he couldn't do anything for his friend. And now Yugi was smiling happily because Kaiba had agreed to become his friend?

Kaiba... Jounouchi glared at the brunet one more time. The young CEO has moved to USA after the Battle City tournament ended, and he still stayed there even after the last time he met Yugi's group in Egypt. Jounouchi had thought they would never meet each other again, but suddenly Kaiba came back to Domino five months after the ceremony battle, and stayed permanent nearly four months now. The brunet made more surprises by appearing at school and studying like a rest of the students in his grade, when his company was very popular throughout the whole world. It was strange and Jounouchi never understood the CEO reason, but he didn't want to know neither. Yugi had nicely asked Kaiba many times and invited him into the group, but Kaiba always refused and stayed away from everybody. But there were some times when Kaiba picked on Jounouchi and insulted him, mostly when Jounouchi was saying something funny. Jounouchi hated everytime the brunet called him '_bonkotsu_', '_inu_' or '_baka_'. He wished that the young CEO never came back to Japan and never bothered him like that. With those insults Jounouchi never wanted to be friend with Kaiba and he always was silently thankful when the brunet ignored Yugi's friendship idea. Jounouchi'd rather run to Yami Malik and ask him to burn his soul one more time with Ra than be friend with Kaiba, but then he remembered Yami Malik was gone and Kaiba was still there.

"I think you better sit down rather than stand there and stare at us like an idiot, _bonkotsu_," Kaiba's voice brought Jounouchi back to reality. He then immediately glared at the brunet; his blood boiled because he didn't know where to sit since the brunet was sitting on his usual seat. He stood still where he was and retorted sarcastically, "I thought you are now our FRIEND. And FRIENDS don't call each other '_bonkotsu_', rich boy." His meaning was obvious. He didn't want to see Kaiba as a friend.

Kaiba smirked, but when he was about to say something the teacher came into class and told everybody to go back to their seats. The brunet just looked at Jounouchi challengingly before going to his real seat not too far away without saying anything. Hazel eyes glared darkly at the young CEO one more time, and then he went to sit in his seat. His friends looked at him worriedly, but he was too stunned to care. How his friends could act and talk to Kaiba as if they were friends for a long time like that? Did they forget how the brunet had treated them? Did they forget how the brunet always rejected them and said that "_friendship isn't real_"? How come they opened so easily to Kaiba like that? And Kaiba too. He must be planning something. That heartless person never did something like this without wanting to get something back. The last thing Jounouchi believed was Kaiba wanted to be friend with his friends without planning anything.

...

"Oh, come on, Jounouchi," Honda smiled at him. "Give him a chance. I was curious at first, but when we talked to each other, I discovered Kaiba could be real interesting. Talk with him; he's not as boring as I expected. You don't have to be hard on him like that."

"Yes? When he calls you "_bonkotsu_" or "_inu_" all the time, 'friend' is the last thing you'll need from him. Thanks," Jounouchi retorted, trying to eat his lunch in class. He refused to go to the cafeteria with his friends when he knew Kaiba would be there with them. Honda stayed in class to confirm to him about Kaiba being nice, but Jounouchi didn't believe it.

The cone-haired brunet sighed, knowing his friend was too stubborn to acknowledge this news. He himself had doubted Kaiba at first, but when he talked with Kaiba, he thought Kaiba could really be nice. He didn't know why Kaiba suddenly decided to become friends with his group, but he could tell the young CEO didn't have a bad intention. Still, he got a very good idea when he saw the way Kaiba looked at Jounouchi, but he was not completely sure, so he decided to say nothing about that.

...

"Why don't you come with us, Jounouchi?" Yugi asked slowly, but he knew the answer already. Jounouchi was packing his bag and looked at his friend with a guilty expression. "Sorry Yugi, but I have my job. I can't skip it even though I really want to." The two started walking out of the classroom, heading to the front of the schoolyard where his other friends were waiting. But as the two stopped into the usual spot, Jounouchi's eyes narrowed when he noticed another person was standing there with his friends.

"Why the hell are you here, Kaiba?" he snapped, eyes glared dangerously at the white uniform wearing brunet in the group.

"Oh, Yugi invited me to come with everybody, so here I am," Kaiba smirked; it seemed like he had expected Jounouchi's reaction.

"Then, why did you invite him, Yugi?" Jounouchi turned to Yugi, and asked in annoyance. The smaller teen looked at him with big purple eyes and said shyly, "I assumed you wouldn't come with us, so I invited Kaiba since he is our friend too. I hope you don't mind..."

"Oh... okay..." the blond duelist frowned but nodded, then waved his hand to everybody and turned away. "Bye guys, have fun. I have to get to my work place as soon as possible. I don't want to be late. We'll meet at school tomorrow." With that he separated from his friends and ran down the street, feeling uncomfortable about Yugi's action earlier. It was like his friend was trying to replace Jounouchi by adding Kaiba into the group. Perhaps he was thinking too much.

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Jounouchi yawned, lately, he wanted to just lie down and continue sleeping until he felt awake enough to get up, but instead he had to force himself awake. His night work was rushed these days, so there were many things he had to do last night and he could only come back to his apartment toward midnight. He had so little time to sleep, along with the lack of sleep he got the night before caused him to feel exhausted. He wondered how he could still be here, walking to school with an absent mind. Perhaps he should use some time during class to sleep so he could regain his strength. He assumed that tonight his jobs would make him stay late again.

He went straight to class, noticed that he was a bit earlier than he was yesterday. The first thing he saw in class immediately ruined his mood, since it was not anything good this morning. Kaiba was sitting in his usual seat again, while his friends were surrounding the brunet, talking and laughing. Jounouchi started to think about the idea that Kaiba has changed his body with someone else, but then the brunet noticed him first and smirked at him. The blond duelist immediately knew that person was no other than the real Kaiba.

"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi greeted him cheerfully as he followed the brunet's glare and saw him. His friends turned to him and greeted him with smiles too, but then they turned back to the brunet and continued the conversation that Jounouchi didn't catch up on. Jounouchi blinked; he never expected_ that_ from his friends. Even Yugi seemed happier. What the hell was happening?

"Hey guys. Did I miss something?" Jounouchi walked close enough to his friends and asked, trying to sound excited. However, he felt too exhausted to stand, but there was not another chair for him and neither of his friends seemed to notice. He also tried to ignore the brunet; cursing the smirk that bastard was throwing toward him. He hoped Kaiba would leave him alone, at least if the two couldn't become friendlier than the current state.

"We were talking about yesterday. After you left, we went to the arcade. It was a lot of funs with Kaiba around, you know. He is a skillful player, as much as Yugi and you. If you were there it would be more fun, but with Kaiba... We never imagined we could enjoy his company like that. He even made jokes," Honda said with excitement; he failed to see the horrible look of his best friend. Jounouchi suddenly felt he was... out of place, or didn't know how to catch up with his friends. His smile fell, as he stood still with a blank mind. What was it all about?

The teacher saved him by walking into the class and told the students to return to their regular seats. Jounouchi sat down in his seat which Kaiba just vacated, and tried to figure out what happened earlier about his friends, but then he gave up because his head hurt from the lack of sleep. The rest of day Jounouchi pretended nothing happening and went through every class. He wanted to sleep, but didn't know why he couldn't. When the lunch break came, Jounouchi was very tired and couldn't stay still anymore, so he decided to skip lunch and take a nap in his class. He ignored his friends when they tried to convince him to go to the cafeteria to eat lunch with them, especially since he knew Kaiba would go with the rest of them.

Jounouchi took a slight nap, not long enough, but it made he feel better than before lunch. When he woke up he realized lunch time almost over, with some students started to go back to the classroom. Suddenly, a girl stormed in the classroom and looked around before she ran into Jounouchi. Jounouchi recognized her as one of his classmate, but couldn't remember her name. "Jounouchi-kun! Mutou-kun is in trouble. Some seniors are picking on him again," she said hurriedly.

"What?! Again?!" he stood up and ran out of class before he yelled back, "Thanks for informing me." He tried to head down to the backyard as fast as he could, where he was sure Yugi was there.

Again. After Yugi won the title King of Game, it didn't mean his life had changed at school. The smaller duelist was still picked or bullied by the others guys who thought they could be better than Yugi if they beat him up. Jounouchi had rescued Yugi several times before, but it seemed like it never end. The senior guys never learned their lessons; sometime they would try to do more terrible things. Jounouchi wished he knew a way to make them stop their stupid actions toward Yugi. Yugi didn't deserve any of their bullying.

Jounouchi started to run down the stairs, but then he stopped in surprise. Kaiba and Yugi were heading up the stairs, talking with each other. Jounouchi couldn't hear what they were talking about but... Didn't that girl said Yugi was surrounding by the bullies? Why he was here talking with Kaiba? Had Kaiba...?

"Yugi!" he called, when he knew his friend didn't notice him yet because Yugi was still talking with Kaiba. The smaller duelist and the one next to him stopped talking and looked up to where Jounouchi was standing on the highest step of the stairs. Then Jounouchi ran down to Yugi's spot.

"Jounouchi-kun." Yugi smiled. "I thought you were still sleeping."

"I woke up a little while ago," Jounouchi said, his hands reached out and touched the small teen's arm. "Are you okay? I heard one of our classmate said some seniors were picking on you."

"They were," Yugi nodded, still smiling. "But Seto saved me. I'd be dead meat now if he didn't. They were too pissed today, you know." With that, the tri-color haired turned his head to Kaiba and smiled. Jounouchi frowned, and looked at Kaiba too. "Seto?!"

"It's my name, isn't it?" Kaiba smirked. "I called him 'Yugi' for a long time now and now we're friends. Aren't friends calling each other by name, _bonkotsu_?"

"As if it's true, _Kaiba_," Jounouchi snapped; he disliked Kaiba's smirk very much.

"You know you can call me Seto too." Kaiba said and stepped on the stair with Yugi, so that he came closer to where Jounouchi was standing. "Are we _friends_ now, _bonkotsu_?" The blond duelist could feel Kaiba purposely bolded the word 'friends'.

"Didn't you just say we're friends, _Kaiba_?" He retorted back, using the other last name. "Friends don't call each other names, especially something like '_bonkotsu_'."

Kaiba then smiled as he stopped right in front of Jounouchi. "Alright then, I'll call you Katsuya. There is nothing to complain about anymore, right?"

"What?! Wait!" Jounouchi jumped back. "What did you just call me?"

"Katsuya. Isn't that your name?" Kaiba said. "Am I pronouncing it wrong?"

"But... but... you called... my name..." Jounouchi stuttered. "Nobody called me by my name before."

"Didn't you mean that we should call each other by our names because we are friends? Or do you prefer '_bonkotsu_' instead of 'Katsuya'?"

"I never recognized you as a friend, _Kaiba_!" Jounouchi growled, glanced at Kaiba with a stone voice. "Still, I prefer you call me 'Jounouchi' if you at least see me as a friend."

"I'll call you 'Katsuya' as long as you call me 'Seto'," Kaiba smirked. "Or '_bonkotsu_' if you still call me Kaiba. No change."

"Are you trying to pick a fight? Because I would be happy beat the shit out of you right now," Jounouchi glared deadly at Kaiba; one hand grasped Kaiba's collar-shirt while another hand was turning into a fist. But before he could punch the brunet, he heard a familiar voice spoke in.

"Jounouchi-kun! Please, stop!" the tri color haired boy cried, waving his hands in front of the two. Jounouchi then let go of Kaiba, and turned his head to Yugi. "Please don't fight with each other. Seto is our friend too. Why don't you accept it? He even saved me from the senior guys. If he is a bad guy, he wouldn't have helped me!"

"And I make sure those guys would never pick on you again, Yugi," Kaiba added.

Yugi nodded and smiled at Kaiba. Jounouchi frowned, feeling a slight pain shot through his heart when he saw that Kaiba smiled back at his friend. Without a word he turned away, heading to the lockers. He heard Yugi called him from behind but didn't turned back or pretend as if he hadn't heard him. He didn't know why, but his stomach was filled with butterflies, and it made him uneasy. What was it? Maybe because he was hungry? He just remembered he hadn't eaten lunch, but now he didn't feel like he wanted to eat. Beside, lunch time was almost over.

"Jounouchi-kun!" he turned back this time, surprised to see that Yugi was behind him. Luckily, there was no Kaiba next to the shorter teen. Jounouchi smiled at him; the feeling in his stomach was a lot better.

"Hey, Yugi," he greeted; he tried to sound cheerfully as he turned all of his attention to the locker in front of him. "I'm sorry that I was not fast enough to save you today. I'm glad that you're okay."

"Jounouchi-kun..." Yugi muttered. "Why do you hate Seto too much? He just wants to be friend with us. Why don't you give him a chance?"

"He calls me '_bonkotsu_', Yugi," Jounouchi protested, eyes still on the locker he was trying to unlock it. "Friends don't call each other names. I hardly believe that he wants to be friend with us, comparing that to the way he acted before." Then he stopped. "You know something about him, right? Even Honda and Anzu accepted him, but I saw he's only close to you. Did he threaten you? Why do you want me to be friends with him so badly?"

"That..." the small duelist opened his mouth but then stopped and turned his head away. It didn't escape Jounouchi's hazel eyes. He turned to face his friend, "I knew it! He is really up to something! What did he do to you?! Tell me, Yugi! I'll send him on the best trip to hospital," he growled angrily. That bastard really did something to his friend. Yugi never had this expression before.

"No. You're mistaken, Jounouchi," Yugi said quickly, trying to calm the blond. "It's just... Seto decided to join to our group because of me."

"Because of you?"

"Yeah... I wanted him to be more... open." the small duelist paused before he continued hesitantly. "The truth is, Seto and I are dating now. In other word, he is my boyfriend."

.

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TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**For Friends **

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-o0o-

**Chapter 2**

_"The truth is, Seto and I are dating now. In other words, he is my boyfriend."_

Jounouchi didn't know why, but he felt like Yugi's words had turned into a knife and stabbed it directly into his chest. His eyes blurred for a moment, and he couldn't explain why he suddenly wanted to cry. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. All he could do was stand there in shock; his eyes stared widely at his best friend.

Kaiba and Yugi were dating...

Kaiba and Yugi were dating...

Kaiba and Yugi were dating.

Why did he feel so lost? Why did he feel like he was betrayed? Kaiba was supposed to never get close to anybody, let alone... love somebody. And that somebody was Jounouchi's best friend, Yugi.

Why?

"Sorry Jounouchi-kun… I didn't want to tell you because I knew you would react this way. I hope you don't mind having a gay friend like me."

Jounouchi shook his head, but still he said nothing. He could never care if his friends were gay, lesbian or bisexual. However, the nameless pain inside his heart was still there; it was odd and something he couldn't explain. He signaled to his friend that he wanted to go back to class, since lunch time was over. Yugi nodded and followed him, whispering only so that he could hear.

"Thanks, Jounouchi-kun... And can you do me a favor? Please accept Seto as a friend and don't fight with him anymore. Can you?"

…

The next periods passed by without Jounouchi's awareness. He couldn't focus on any classes, but instead was lost in thought, digesting the information his friend had given him. Sometimes, he glared at the brunet sitting across from him, and three seats away, a wave of unreadable feeling growled up in his stomach making he fell sick and more tired. He wondered why he couldn't stop thinking about Kaiba being with Yugi, and not feeling infuriated. Why?

Come to think about it, Kaiba had become his group's friend, and even though Jounouchi protested it, he knew he was acting childish. He had a feeling that Kaiba was replacing Jounouchi in his friends' eyes, but that was because Jounouchi couldn't just go around hanging out with them and not think about anything else. He might seem unintelligent, but he had more brain cells than Kaiba has given him credit for. Jounouchi wasn't rich and didn't have extra money to save, so all he had to do was work his ass off to save the money for everything he need to pay at the end of every month. Because of this, he didn't have as much time to spend with his friends as before, and started to have a feeling that he had abandoned them, or they have abandoned him. He didn't know which it was, but he had never doubted his friends like this before. However, after Kaiba joined his group, he grew to have strong feeling about it. Maybe his friend didn't need him anymore? Like this morning, he had felt so out of place...

He thought about Yugi. It had explained everything. His best buddy had sunk into a deep depression after Atemu went to the Afterlife. Jounouchi tried his best to cheer Yugi up, but never succeeded no matter what he did, and sometimes he even felt that he, himself, was really an annoyance. He just hoped his friend didn't think the same, but... had he? Yugi seemed very happy about being with Kaiba. It had been two days since Kaiba joined into his group, and Yugi was happier than Jounouchi had ever remembered, and Jounouchi now knew that it was not only because Kaiba joined his group, but because Yugi and Kaiba was dating... But why it made Jounouchi feel mad, he still couldn't understand.

At least Yugi told him, instead of letting him find out in some weird situation. Jounouchi knew he could just accept them. He had no right to get involved, or forbid them to be together, but somehow he wished he could. Still, he wondered why he had that thought...

At the end of day, Jounouchi had to apologize one more time to his friends, because he couldn't come to Yugi's house when Yugi invited him. He knew the rest of his friends, including Kaiba, would come over, but he just couldn't skip his work to go with them. If he did, he would be fired, and he couldn't find a new job to support his bills. Then, he might have to leave his apartment he was renting, and worst, he'd have to leave Domino and go to live with his father. Well, living with his father was not a bad idea, but since his father was staying in the furthest city away, which was still in Japan, Jounouchi didn't like that idea very much.

The work that night put Jounouchi under more pressure that he was used too. He had to spend three hours working overtime, and when he finally went home, it was nearly three in the morning. Jounouchi felt exhausted, and wished he could sleep all day to recovery, but he knew he still had school tomorrow. And, thank God, tomorrow was Friday.

Jounouchi slept lightly that night, because he was so tired. When Jounouchi woke up the next morning, he had a big headache over his head, like there was a heavy, invisible stone lying on his head. Trying to avoid it, Jounouchi drank a cup of coffee that he made by himself, and then went to school. Maybe he would have some period throughout the day to sleep, if the teachers didn't mind...

Jounouchi went through the door of his class, and was greeted by the new familiar scene. His friends had all arrived in class, including the _new member_ Kaiba, who was sitting in Jounouchi's chair. Too tired to start a fight with the rich boy, Jounouchi walked across from them and sat on an empty chair nearby. A fast memory about when Yugi told him about him and Kaiba dating made Jounouchi suddenly fell like crying again, but he quickly shoved it off. Okay, he swore to himself, because Kaiba made Yugi happy, he wouldn't fight with the CEO anymore. He would try to accept him as a friend too. He just hoped it'd work and help him forget about this strange feeling.

"Morning,_ bonkotsu_! Aren't you a little bit quiet today?"

Shit!

"Drop it, Kaiba! Didn't I tell you stop call me 'that'?" he snapped back, but left his head lying on the table in front of him, eyes half closed.

"I would, if you agree to call me Seto," Jounouchi could tell the brunet was smirking. Why did he want him to call him by his first name so much? More than that, the CEO didn't say he would call him Jounouchi as the rest of his friends did, but wanted to call him Katsuya, his first name too. And thinking about Kaiba called him 'Katsuya' made him feel a wave of excitement... What was that about?

"Jounouchi-kun! Seto! Stop!" Yugi spoke up weakly to stop the two, but Jounouchi no longer cared, and shut his eyes completely. It was obvious that he didn't want to argue about that anymore. Kaiba made a noise that sounded as if he didn't want to drop the conversation yet, but for some reason, he did stop and went back to talk with Yugi's friends when they called him, after they greeted Jounouchi. They also wanted to bring Jounouchi into the conversation, but the blond was half sitting -half laying on the table, the message 'Don't disturb' clearly written on his face. Somehow, it looked like Jounouchi was mad at his friends.

The teacher came into classroom after the bell rang. He demanded the students go back to their seats to start the new lesson. Jounouchi stood lazily at his temporary seat and went to his own seat where Kaiba was standing. But as he came close to Kaiba, suddenly the vision in front him started spinning. Then everything was black out.

...

Jounouchi opened his eyes wide and sat up violently; immediately he received a huge headache and everything he saw was waving. He gasped, but no words came out, only a soft whine. He froze for a minute and waited for the headache to fade, then carefully and slowly rolled his eyes to look around. He could tell he was in the infirmary after staring around.

Jounouchi let one leg get out of the bed, and then stood up slowly. He blinked, and felt as if his head was very clear and light, as if he has been sleeping long enough to recovery from his lack of sleep. He pushed the curtains aside and saw the doctor was there, sitting at the table. She saw him too, and smiled greeting the blond.

"Good afternoon, Jounouchi-kun! It seems you have awakened. How do you feel right now?"

"I think I feel fine," Jounouchi said weakly, noticed his throat was dry. He rolled his eyes. He didn't like the amused look the doctor was giving him. She said 'Good afternoon', so what time was it now? How long had he been asleep? It seemed like the doctor could read his mind, so she spoke up.

"You have slept through the whole day today, Jounouchi-kun. The last bell that announced school ended just rang few minutes ago. I wanted to send you home early when I figured out you wouldn't wake up soon, but then your profile said you were living alone, so I couldn't call your family to pick you up. Well, it doesn't matter anymore. I checked you out, and found out you don't have any problems, just a lack of sleep. You should sleep more if you don't want to pass out again. Did you find anything interesting to do at night?"

Jounouchi raised his eyebrows at the doctor's words. The way she was saying it was as if she meant he had been doing something illegal at night. He wanted to talk back, but instead just nodded and asked quietly, "Uhm... Well... Do you know who brought me here? At least I want to say thanks to that person. Is it one of my friends?"

"Kaiba-kun is the one who brought you here," the doctor smiled. "He said he is your friend. Lately, some of your friends have showed up during lunch. They were all worried about you."

Jounouchi blinked in surprise, and rubbed his hair. He nodded at the doctor one more time and headed for the door. "Thank you for taking care of me. It's already late. I think I should go home. Bye."

"Have a nice day, Jounouchi-kun," was the last words he heard when he walked out the infirmary.

It was deserted when the students had left school. Jounouchi walked down the familiar hallway that headed to the lockers. He was thinking about his school stuff, and he wondered if his friends had it or not. And he knew he should hurry, because he had to go to work later.

Jounouchi's eyes caught the familiar brunet's, who was heading in his direction when he was on the way to the lockers. The brunet saw him and stopped; olive eyes shined when he noticed Jounouchi and ran into him, "Hey, Jounouchi! You're awake! I was coming to the nurse to check up on you. Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm feeling good, Honda," Jounouchi smiled and patted his friend's shoulder. "It was just from a lack of sleep, and sleeping the whole day today helped me so much."

"Next time, don't scare me like that again. I mean, you suddenly passed out in class and nearly crashed into the table. You would have if Kaiba didn't catch you. What time did you go to sleep last night?"

Three in the morning, Jounouchi thought, but he didn't say it out loud. He just smiled sheepishly at his friend and brushed his hair back. "Is that so? Ah, I heard Kaiba is the one who brought me to infirmary. Is he still here at school? If he is, I have to go and thank him. I don't want to owe him, you know."

"You don't have to," Honda sighed. "After all he is our friend, and you don't have to act formal with your friends, right? I bet if I was the one who brought you to infirmary, you would just be grinning at me now."

"You do really know me, didn't you?" Jounouchi said half-jokingly and patted on his friend's shoulder again. "But I'm not used to his presence yet. I still feel like I owe him, so at least I should thank him. Maybe it would help me learn to accept him too. I don't want to fight with him anymore."

"That's good," Honda smiled. "Kaiba is still in the classroom with Yugi. Today is their turn to clean up the classroom, you know. Even I have to admit that I was surprise when Kaiba actually agreed to stay after school to clean up. As far as I know, he never did it before."

Jounouchi only nodded his head, and started walking in the direction of the classroom.

"He's really changed, and changed for good. I wonder what made him change like that." Honda mumbled, still loud enough for Jounouchi to hear. The blond duelist didn't reply and continued walking. When Jounouchi walked away from Honda and was too far to hear him clearly anymore, he heard Honda shout. "Oh hey, Jounouchi! I forgot! I have to head home now, so see you again next time. I put your schoolbag in your locker with Anzu's notebook. We also have homework for the weekend; it was inside your schoolbag too. Bye then."

Jounouchi merely said goodbye to Honda since the brunet had disappeared around the corner. He sighed and headed to the classroom. One again, he felt uncomfortable while thinking about facing Kaiba and Yugi in the classroom. But he felt more bugged about Kaiba, and how he had changed because of Yugi. As if he was jealous... But... why?

He tried to smile, before he came face to face with Kaiba to say thanks. After he heard what the doctor and Honda said, he could confirm that Kaiba wasn't as big of a jerk as he had thought. Maybe if he behaved friendly enough with Kaiba, they could become close friends, as Kaiba did with Jounouchi's other friends. Well, to be honest, seeing Kaiba talking with Honda and Anzu friendly was the last thing Jounouchi had expected, but it had happened. So Kaiba and him were not really that different, right?

However, the thought of Yugi and Kaiba being an item still bugged Jounouchi and it wouldn't leave his brain alone. Since he learned about it, Jounouchi always felt a sharp pain running through his head every time he thought about them. It was clearly not because Yugi was gay, because he didn't mind that, but why did the idea of Yugi being with Kaiba bring tears to his eyes? He didn't understand.

Perhaps it was the shock; a shock that formed because he never expected that his best friend would go out with his ene- former enemy. Maybe if he learned to trust Kaiba as a friend completely, the feeling would go away. He convinced himself of this when he noticed he had gotten closer to his classroom. And he just noticed one more thing; the door of his classroom was opened.

Jounouchi couldn't hear anything coming from inside the classroom. Wasn't it too quiet for a cleaning season to be going on inside it? Perhaps Kaiba and Yugi had finished the cleaning and had already left? But why was the door still opened? He wondered about this as he popped his head inside the classroom. His eyes widened in surprise at what he saw. He had to use his hand to cover his mouth; forced himself to not making any sound. His legs started shaking, but he managed to step back without making a sound. Then he turned, running out of the hallway. He couldn't bear the image he just saw.

Because in the classroom, Kaiba and Yugi was there, kissing each other.

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TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**For Friends**

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**A/N:** I love this chapter (and hope you guys would love it too). :" And I like Honda in this chapter. Lol. xD

-o0o-

**Chapter 3**

Jounouchi stopped running and took a breath; he then noticed that tears were rolling down his chin. Blinking, he let the last tear on his eyes drop off, and then used his sleeve to wipe it away. When his sight was clear, Jounouchi could tell he was standing in the locker's hallway. Without a word he opened his locker and saw his schoolbag inside, as Honda had told him. He took it out and threw it onto his shoulder, then started walking out of school.

It seemed like his friends didn't hang out after school today. Ironically, Jounouchi didn't feel like working either. He ignored the thought that he might get fired if he didn't show up at work, but at that moment he didn't really care.

Because, inside his head now was nothing more than the scene of Kaiba and Yugi earlier, kissing each other in the classroom.

Jounouchi did understand. He knew now why he had been itchy for the past few days, ever since Kaiba joined his group, all together with the weird, excited feeling when Kaiba called his name, or why he wanted to cry when he heard Yugi and Kaiba were dating. Maybe he had realized it a long time ago, but had been unconsciously denying it all the time. But now it was too obvious...

... that Jounouchi had feeling for Kaiba. And to make it worse, he fell for Kaiba _hard_, too _hard__,_ that made it too painful when he saw Kaiba with Yugi.

Jounouchi closed his eyes to stop the new tears that wanted to leak out of his eyes as he arrived at his apartment. He sighed heavily, suddenly felt all of his energy disappear. He dropped himself onto the small bed in his dark bedroom, didn't bother to turn on the light. The pressure in the transparent air seemed thick, making it feel hard to breath. He could tell he was tired, and the nap at school earlier didn't seem enough for him now. He felt as if his eyes were too heavy to open, and all he wanted was to sleep. Well, maybe he should sleep. It might help him distract himself from the reality he just discovered, since it was not a good thing. It was absolutely terrible indeed, because he knew it would never work out. Not since the one he loved now was already with someone else and that person was Jounouchi's best friend.

What if everything was just a dream? Jounouchi sincerely wished it was and when he woke up, nothing he was feeling now would be real. Not his feeling for Kaiba. Or maybe the fact Kaiba and Yugi were an item was just a dream, and he still had a chance with the rich-ass bastard brunet CEO Kaiba Seto.

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Jounouchi slowly opened his eyes, faintly saw the sunlight that was over his face. He sat up, but still didn't fully awaken from the dream, just could tell it was morning. He stared at the window blankly; his mind started regaining its awareness. He raised his hand and brushed it against his eyes, then got off the bed. It was around ten in the morning when Jounouchi glanced at the clock. He smiled absently, didn't remember when he had a nice sleep like this in such a long time. He went to the bathroom and then walked to the kitchen, thinking about finding something in the fridge for breakfast. As he was waiting for the food to warm up in the microwave, he suddenly heard a sound outside his door, as if someone was there.

Jounouchi opened his door and looked around, noticed his mailbox was filled with mail. Was it the end of the month already? God, then the bills must be in some of the mail. Jounouchi groaned in annoyance, and grabbed the mail, then came back to the kitchen, started eating his breakfast and read the mail.

As he had thought, he received the electricity bill and gas bill, together with the rent bill. He sighed and read the amount of each bill, counted silently inside his head. With his overtime the last two weeks, Jounouchi would have some money left after he paid all of those bills, which kept him surviving one more month. But... He stopped, seeing another letter in the pile of mail. He recognized it was a personal letter as he unfolded it, and it was from his dad.

_Dear Katsuya,_

_How are you? I'm still good and my work is incredibly awesome. My town that I am living in is good too, and the apartment seems better than our rented apartment in Domino where are you living now. It's bigger__,__ but it always makes me miss you. I wish you could move in with me. You know, with my salary__,__ you wouldn't have to work to pay for your apartment and bills anymore. I heard the neighbors say that the school here is cool too and you could transfer here easily. Do you want to think about that? I just wish we could unite together after the long time that I left you in Domino. I know you're growing up and have your own life, but I hope you still remember your old man._

_Love you,_

_Your father_

_Jounouchi Kazuya _

Jounouchi stared at the letter after he has read it. His mind was blank. This was not the first time his father had insisted about asking him to move in with him. In fact in the nearly a year he had moved out, sometimes he would ask Jounouchi to see if Jounouchi had change his mind. Of course, Jounouchi didn't before. He loved his father, but he wanted to stay with his friends, especially Yugi, since the young duelist seemed broken enough after losing his other half. He wanted to be there to support his friend, wanted to the one his friend could use as a shoulder to lean on. However, as Jounouchi realized he put the letter on the table aside with other bills, his eyes went wide then darkened. Yugi didn't need him. Yugi didn't need him as Jounouchi thought he would. After all the time Jounouchi was with Yugi, the smaller duelist's mood still never changed any better, and Jounouchi himself started to think he was annoying his friend with his stupid acts. Then Yugi changed, but not because of Jounouchi, but Kaiba; when Kaiba and Yugi became a couple. Jounouchi never hated himself more than he did at that moment. His friend just only changed for better, and instead of Jounouchi who was supposed to be happy for his friend, he discovered his feelings for his friend's boyfriend too. It was the last thing Jounouchi wanted to happen.

But Jounouchi couldn't deny his feeling for Kaiba. He didn't understand why. Kaiba was a jerk all the time, and he used to tease Jounouchi all the time in the past (well, it was not really different now, either,) then why did Jounouchi fall for him? Jounouchi didn't know. He only knew that he could no longer fight with Kaiba anymore, and he didn't dare to look at his friend's face. He had a feeling that he was betraying Yugi's trust for falling in love with Kaiba, and now he really felt like he was falling apart.

Jounouchi sat down and closed his eyes, then took a deep breath. He started thinking about the day when Kaiba became friends with his group. He had felt like he was out of place ever since that time, when his friends didn't seem to care about him anymore, but instead about Kaiba. Not that he could blame them, since Jounouchi was the one who separated from them first. He had refused many invitations to come play with them, because he couldn't quit his jobs. He needed the jobs to pay his bills because he didn't receive any money from his father. His father wanted him to move in with him, so of course he didn't send him money, with the obvious meaning that if Jounouchi couldn't enforce enough money for himself, he should move in with his father. Jounouchi had tried hard to keep the balance between his work and his life with his friends, but now with Kaiba stepping in and changing everything, he felt so screwed up. Maybe he shouldn't force himself anymore. Maybe he should just give up everything here and move in with his father. He thought.

Jounouchi knew he was trying to find a way to escape the pain, and it clearly just pointed out he was a coward, but he didn't have any better idea at that moment. He was afraid he would let his emotions bust out, and let Kaiba know about his feeling the next time they meet. He didn't want to upset Yugi, and if he left, he didn't want to destroy his friendship with Yugi by confessing his feeling to Yugi's boyfriend. If he moved in with his father, he wouldn't have to work anymore, or maybe he could do some lighter job that wouldn't make him go home at three in the morning. He could still keep in contact with his friends by using mail and hoped that if he went away from Kaiba, his feeling for the CEO would fade away. He just hoped that he would be strong enough.

It was the ultimate decision. Jounouchi smiled and stood up; even though he didn't feel any better with that idea. He took out the notebook and started to write the reply to his father. He wanted to do this as soon as possible; scared if he was slow he would change his mind or something horrible would blow in. He wrote the checks to pay for his bills too and folded all of them, ready to drop then at the post office. After that, he changed his clothes and went out.

Normally Jounouchi had to work on the weekends, but today he decided to skip it again. It was not like he would need it anymore, so he didn't care if they fired him or not. He was used to going to Yugi's house if he was done with his work, but he wasn't in the mood to meet Yugi now. He walked randomly on the street, went into a few stores on the streets that he had never tried before. He discovered a very cool shop full of unique things, a cards shop where he bought himself two packs of cards, but he decided he would open them later when he had got home. He even went to an arcade alone, but then walked out after few minutes because it was really bored playing it without friends. He shivered slightly when he thought about not having friends with him at the new place. It was not like he was scared of growing addicted to his friends, but they were his important friends that he didn't want to lose or be separate from. He just realized one of the reason he didn't want to move in with his father before was because he simply wanted to be close to his friends. And he didn't know if he should laugh bitterly or cry because of that.

Jounouchi unconsciously went to a grocery store, and that grocery store belonged to no one other than Honda's family. Just as he realized it, he heard a familiar voice called him.

"Jounouchi?! What are you doing here?"

Jounouchi turned around to see Honda, who was dressed in a brown T-shirt with a dark-yellow apron in front of his chest was headed toward him. Jounouchi smiled at his friend, while suddenly remembered he should go to the post office to drop off his mail. "Hey, Honda! I'm just walking around, you know. I didn't even realize I dropped in your shop," he greeted his friend with a cheerful voice, hoping his friend wouldn't notice the dark-hollow mood was on his face.

"Man, what's wrong with you?" Honda came close to him; he clearly noticed the difference in his friend. "You're supposed to be working right now, so why are you here? Don't tell me they fired you?"

"Nope," Jounouchi shook his head. "But I think they will, not that will matter to me anymore," he said nonchalantly.

"What…?! What's wrong?" Honda now started to seem afraid. He wasn't used to seeing his friend in this gloomy mood. Jounouchi in the past, even in his hardest state, like the time when his father was still an alcoholic-bastard that beat Jounouchi when he was only a child, Jounouchi still didn't sink into this low mood. He always found a way to get out of his troubles, like how he had joined the gang in junior school in order to fight back against his father. "What's happening with you?"

"I'm all fine," Jounouchi smiled sadly. "I just… I think I will move out." He finally confessed to his friend about his plan. He didn't want Honda to get mad if he told them later when he had gone.

"WHAT?!" Honda shouted in disbelief. "But— why? Don't tell me… because of Kaiba…?" His eyes widened at that thought.

Jounouchi rolled his eyes; he didn't expect that his friend would find out that quickly. But before he could say anything Honda had continued. "Is it because of him? I thought you had started accepting him, so why did you decide to move out right now? Is he that annoying to you? Did he do anything to you that I don't know about aside from his teasing before?"

Jounouchi automatically shook his head and sighed but still not say anything. Honda stared at his friend for a moment and sighed along with his friend, and then he eyed the café shop across the store, signaled Jounouchi. "I figured out that you wouldn't tell me as long as we still stand here. Do you want to go there?" He pointed at the café shop.

Jounouchi looked at the café shop for a few seconds then nodded silently. Honda smiled and started walking with Jounouchi following behind. In the next few minutes, they were sitting in the café shop after ordering their drinks. But Jounouchi still was deep in thought; he didn't know what he should tell his friend. He didn't know if he should tell Honda about his feeling for Kaiba or not, and he was afraid of how Honda would act.

But was did it matter anymore? After all, Jounouchi would be moving out. He'd like to keep in touch with his friends when he went away, but he didn't want any regrets; he especially didn't want to make his friend upset or anything. Honda was his best friend, if he couldn't accept what Jounouchi was, it would hurt but he knew it would be better than if he didn't say anything. And he knew Honda was not a person who judged people by their sexuality.

"What's the matter?" Honda was the first one who spoke. "Yesterday when I saw you in school you were still good, and even wanted to thank Kaiba for taking you to the infirmary. Then, why today, did you decided to move out? Did Kaiba do anything to you after then?"

Jounouchi shook his head and sighed, didn't dare to look at his friend. "No, it's not him. It's because I…" he said weakly and stopped, didn't know how to continue.

"You-? What really happened yesterday?! Dammit, I should have stayed with you before I went home. I didn't think Kaiba would want to harm you anymore like that."

"No! Like I said, it's not because of him," Jounouchi snapped hurriedly but nervously. "It just… I just realized that I am… I am…"

Honda stared at Jounouchi but did not say anything and waited patiently for Jounouchi to continue. The blond then closed his eyes and sighed.

"I just realized that I'm gay, okay? And because of that, I can't…"

"What?!" Honda yelled. "Just because you're gay, you want to run away?! Jounouchi, I don't know whether you are gay or not, but I can tell you are longing for Kaiba." Jounouchi was surprise when he heard Honda say that. His friend knew it even before he did? "And don't tell me it's not Kaiba. I could tell you that. I can see you really enjoyed when Kaiba argued with you, and how you didn't accept him when he joined our group. It was like you wanted to keep him for yourself."

It then was Jounouchi's turn to stare at Honda speechlessly.

"Why do you want to move out? Are you scared that Kaiba would humiliate you if he found out about you having feeling for him?" Honda asked softly. "Kaiba could be an arrogant prick but I know he wouldn't do that. Besides, he is our friend now. And as I have talked with him, I realized he isn't a type of guy to do that terrible thing."

Jounouchi still didn't say anything. Honda seemed like a mindless guy, but he was an unexpectedly good watcher. He could see through a person if he talked with them long enough, like he found out Jounouchi's feeling for Kaiba even when Jounouchi didn't realize it himself in the first place.

"And I think he has an interest in you too. That's the reason I think he agreed to join our group," Honda stated firmly.

"No! It's not!" Jounouchi cut him immediately. Honda might be a sharp guy but not always right. "The real reason Kaiba joined in our group was because of… Yugi."

"What do you mean?" Honda's eyebrows twisted. "Yugi was the one who always invited him to our group, so of course Kaiba would agree to it with Yugi first."

"That's not what I meant," Jounouchi sighed. "Kaiba and Yugi are dating, and that's why Kaiba agreed to join our group. He couldn't refuse his boyfriend, right?" he said sarcastically.

"WHAT?! It's impossible!" Honda shouted aloud. "I never saw them have any signs of… of that kind of feeling. And Yugi is in love with Atemu, even if he isn't here anymore. You could tell that by yourself, couldn't you? How Yugi was depressed months back then."

"I didn't know he was in love with Atemu," Jounouchi's eyes widened. "I just thought it was because Atemu was Yugi's other self, so he would feel empty without him. But… it's doesn't matter anymore. Yugi is with Kaiba now. Didn't you notice how happy Yugi was since Kaiba joined our group?"

"Now that you mentioned it, yes, I saw it, but I didn't think further about it," Honda admitted. "However, I have a suspicion that Kaiba has feeling for you more than Yugi." Then Honda paused. "Is that the reason you wanted to move out?"

Jounouchi nodded mutely. "Yeah… I don't want to stay here and risk it… I mean, you know I am a straight forward person and I can't hide my feeling well, so it would only be the matter of time until everybody found out I have feeling for Kaiba. I don't care if Kaiba finds out, but I don't want to hurt Yugi's feelings. I'm afraid if he found out about it, our friendship would not be, well, like we are right now. And he deserves to be happy. I don't want to make him suffer."

"Then, what's about you?! You care for Yugi's happiness, then about yours?" Honda yelled in frustration. "You don't deserve happiness?"

"I didn't mean that. I think… if I move out, maybe I would forget all about my feeling for Kaiba and find a new one. I can't be here anymore. I would become a threat for Kaiba and Yugi's relationship. I don't want that," Jounouchi responded weakly, he felt the tear that started wandering around his eyes.

Honda sighed, knowing he couldn't stop his friend. He also knew Jounouchi's father would be more than welcoming to Jounouchi to move in with him. He knew Jounouchi's life might be better because he wouldn't have to work three jobs to balance the bills anymore, and wouldn't have to pass out caused by exhaustion like yesterday. But he really wanted Jounouchi to stay back here. After all, Jounouchi was his best friend that no one could replace.

"If you have decided, I know I can't change your mind…" Honda gave in. "But… could you do me a favor?" he asked, suddenly an idea popped in his head.

Jounouchi nodded. "Anything for you. This might be the last thing I do for you before I move out." He smiled.

"Okay. Have you told your dad you would move in with him?"

"Nah. I am planning to drop off my mail at post office after I am done talking with you."

Honda grinned. "Then, don't do that. At least, not today. Instead… you go to Kaiba's place and tell him about your feeling for him."

"What?! Are you crazy?! I just said..." Jounouchi shouted but was then cut off by the calm voice of the brunet. "I know! I heard everything you have said. I just want you won't have any regret when you are gone. If he doesn't return your feeling, you could move on and forget all about him. If he is really Yugi's boyfriend, I'm sure he won't say a word to Yugi if he doesn't want to make Yugi upset. And if he's being a jerk and tells Yugi and makes Yugi sad, I'll beat him up myself, and ban him from Yugi forever. After all, you won't want Yugi's boyfriend to be a bastard like that, right?"

"You're... right..." hazel eyes rolled. "But... I..."

"No 'buts', Jounouchi. It is the last thing I ask you to do before you go," Honda said sharply. "You promised you'll do anything for me, right? Then, do it!"

"But if he makes fun of me..."

"Then you could punch him in the face and leave for good, or maybe you would feel better and wouldn't feel like you need to move out anymore. I know you can do that. After all, you're stronger than him," Honda continued still with the sharp and serious tone. Jounouchi looked at him in a nervous way, but the blond teen was now starting to agree with Honda's words.

"Well... I'll do that." Finally Jounouchi nodded weakly and said hesitatingly. His gaze dropped down on the table, where the coffee sat that he and Honda have ordered early. Strangely, none of them noticed since when the waitress had brought those coffees for them.

Honda smiled and stood up, placing his hand on Jounouchi's shoulder. "Good. I know you can do that. Go for it, pal. I'll be here waiting for your result."

"I still don't think it's a good idea." Jounouchi mumbled, but he didn't look up. "But... I have nothing to lose except maybe a few broken ribs... I may be stronger than him, but he has bodyguards, remember?"

"It'll be okay." Honda still smiled and patted Jounouchi's shoulder. "I'm sure nothing bad would happen. Now, be a man and go confess to Kaiba," he laughed playfully. Jounouchi nodded again hesitantly and stood up; he decided it was time to leave.

Hopefully he would still have enough courage to tell Kaiba when he arrived at Kaiba's mansion.

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TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**For Friends**

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**A/N:** Thank roseofnoonvale and dancing elf for helping me fixed this chapter. Or I would never dare to post it in again. :")

And thank for people who have reviewed, or sent me the messages to courage me. :D I really appreciate it.

For people who thought I have stopped writing. I didn't stop writing. I just didn't want to publish my fanfic but writing is something I cannot stop even if I want to… It's like an obsession to me haha. xD

-o0o-

**Chapter 4**

It was three hours later that Jounouchi finally said goodbye to Honda and left the cafe shop. In another three hours, Jounouchi had turned away from going home, and headed toward Kaiba's mansion, only to complete this circle once again. He didn't know why he had agreed to do as Honda asked in the first place. After all, confessing his feelings to Kaiba was no different than suicide to him. And he might hurt Yugi's feeling if Yugi found out about this.

That was what Jounouchi thought inside his head, but in the end, he finally stopped in front of Kaiba's mansion. This was the third time Jounouchi had come here; the first time had been a few months ago, when he had met Mokuba at the public park and the kid had asked Jounouchi to bring him home. Mokuba was a sweet kid. Jounouchi smiled when he thought about Mokuba. The kid made him miss Shizuka, and he sometimes thought of Mokuba as his own brother.

Jounouchi looked at the large, isolated gate; he didn't know if he should ring the bell or not. He placed his finger on the button, but did not press it. He drew his arm back and stretched it out many times. Finally, he heard a loud buzz and acknowledged that his finger had actually pressed the button, after nearly fifteen minutes of standing there.

_"May I help you?"_ A voice suddenly spoke up from nowhere, making Jounouchi jolt. He looked around, saw nobody and was frightened, but before he could find out what was happening, the voice continued, _"I'm talking with you through the intercom, mister. You can speak to me by using the speaker on your left. How can I help you?"_

"Ah...uhm...hehe..." Jounouchi laughed nervously and looked to his left as he was told. He saw the speaker and stared at it hesitantly. It was now or never. He gulped, "I'm Jounouchi Katsuya, and I...eh...want to talk with Kaiba Seto. Is he home? I'm his... classmate."

_"Jounouchi-san__.__ I understand,"_ the voice confirmed. "Please come in." And as the voice stopped, the gate started opening, much to Jounouchi's amazement. Damn this rich guy. No wonder Kaiba always underestimated Jounouchi and the other people around him.

Jounouchi walked through the gate slowly. As he was just inside the large yard, the gate started closing. Jounouchi glanced at it and knew he couldn't run away anymore. He continued walking up the large driveway heading to the mansion. With his purposely slow steps, Jounouchi walked for nearly five minutes before he reached the front door of the mansion.

As Jounouchi stopped before the front door, it suddenly opened and Jounouchi saw an old, short, bald man standing behind it.(*) With round glasses hiding his eyes, he looked... creepy, in Jounouchi's opinion. But he greeted Jounouchi with a smile (and that was even creepier), then bowed slightly. "Jounouchi-san. Seto-sama is waiting for you in his office. You can go down to the end of this hallway then take the stairs. His office is on the next floor, it's the first door on the right," he said honorably. Jounouchi recognized his voice as the one he had heard earlier on the intercom. He nodded and carefully followed the directions, knowing that the old man would let him go alone.

He sighed. Kaiba already knew he was here. He let him come in, but Jounouchi didn't know if that was a good sign or not. He just knew he couldn't step back anymore. Damn Honda and his promise...why was Jounouchi unable to break a promise whenever he made one?

With his mind absent, Jounouchi walked through the endless hallway. Again, he cursed this mansion for being too big. But he had to agree that this mansion was fancy and very luxurious and…beautiful. The hallway did not have too many lights, so it looked dim; somehow that made Jounouchi feel calm. However, as Jounouchi felt calm, his mind went blank… He forgot almost all the words he wanted to tell Kaiba as he kept walking. And he knew, with every step that carried him closer to Kaiba, he was even more nervous. Maybe he could still run away now?

But eventually Jounouchi stood in front of Kaiba's office and knocked on the door. Just as he knocked, the door swung open, and there was Kaiba.

"Katsuya," Kaiba said, smirking as he looked down at Jounouchi's face. Jounouchi shivered slightly when he heard the brunet call him by his first name. "What made you come all the way here to meet with me?"

Jounouchi swallowed hard and followed the brunet into the room; he closed the door, but said nothing. Kaiba's office seemed very big with a large couch in the middle of it. The CEO sat down and signaled for Jounouchi to sit down as well. He sat down hesitantly and glanced at the brunet nervously, aware that the brunet's gaze was on him. The excited feeling of being alone with Kaiba ran through Jounouchi's mind, but he tried to shake it away. After all, Kaiba wasn't his. Kaiba was Yugi's boyfriend.

"Kaiba," Jounouchi finally said after a long silence. The brunet's eyebrows twisted and he opened his mouth, as if he was going to say something, but Jounouchi continued, not letting Kaiba interrupt him. "I came here to tell you that I..."

'_Say it. Just say it.__'_ Jounouchi's mind screamed, but the words stuck in his throat. Luckily, Kaiba remained quiet, waiting patiently for Jounouchi to continue. Jounouchi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I...I'm moving."

"WHAT?!" was the unexpected response from Kaiba. The CEO had nearly shouted, so Jounouchi opened his eyes in surprise and saw the brunet standing in front of his seat. "You're moving? But why?" Kaiba asked, trying to look calm, but Jounouchi realized that he was panicking.

Jounouchi didn't know why, but he suddenly felt weaker. He didn't know why Kaiba reacted this way, but he decided to tell Kaiba everything. Everything. But his mind was in a mess, and he didn't know what he was saying anymore. His voice was shaking as he explained, "I... can't take it anymore. Since you agreed to join our group, my life has… turned upside down. Yugi is happier with your company, and I… was tossed aside. With your friendship, you have replaced me in our group, and my friends seem like they don't need me anymore."

"Don't be ridiculous," Kaiba moved closer to Jounouchi and continued angrily, "You of all people should know that I can't replace you in your friends' view, no matter what. Damn, do you hate me that much? Can't you accept me as your friend? Or is it all because you can't forgive me for the way I insulted you in the past?" His hand grasped Jounouchi's left shoulder violently.

"I..." Jounouchi winced under Kaiba's force, but he still didn't look into Kaiba's eyes. "I... I can't see you as my friend, Kaiba... even if I don't... I don't hate you."

"Then, why?" Kaiba asked; he still sounded very angry. "If you don't want me in your group, I will withdraw from it. It's not like I ever wanted to be part of it in the first place."

Jounouchi's eyes began to water as he told himself that Kaiba's words didn't mean that he cared for him. "I'm... tired, okay? I'm tired. I was working three jobs at the same time to keep myself here with my friends, since my dad is living far away now. I want to be here with my friends. I want to be here to support Yugi because he's been very upset since Atemu left. I wanted to make him feel better, but I failed. He didn't need me from the beginning, and even now he doesn't need me. No matter what I do for him, he hasn't cheered up again. But then you stepped in... You made him smile again… That was what I could never do for him."

"Katsuya..." Kaiba sighed and loosened his hand without removing it from his upper arm. "You... love Yugi that much?" Kaiba's voice grew hoarse, hinting of hurt. Jounouchi's eyes filled with tears again as he shook his head. "No... not Yugi. I..."

And he stopped; he looked straight at Kaiba, who was looking back at him with an unreadable expression. Kaiba was kneeling on the floor, his hand still placed on Jounouchi's upper arm. "The one I love is… you," he admitted with a very low voice, but he was sure Kaiba heard it, because the hand was immediately taken off his upper arm. "I can't bear seeing you with Yugi, since Yugi is my best friend, and you are his boyfriend now. When I discovered I had feelings for you, I felt like I was betraying him. I want you to be mine, and I hate myself for thinking that way. That's why I can't stay here anymore..."

"Katsuya," Kaiba used Jounouchi's first name for the third time since he came here, and Jounouchi started feeling annoyed about it. Why did Kaiba keep calling him by his given name? No one had used that name before. Jounouchi didn't prevent anyone from calling him that; it was just... this came from Kaiba, and it only gave Jounouchi false hope.

He could feel Kaiba's body moving without glancing at him, and he waited for the fist to hit him in the face. After all, as Honda had said, since he confessed to Kaiba, he really felt like a large weight had lifted off his chest. However, his feelings for Kaiba hadn't started fading. He still wanted to embrace the brunet at this very moment...

And he gasped when Kaiba's skin contacted with his. But it was not because the brunet had punched him. Kaiba was... hugging him; he tightened the embrace as Jounouchi gasped, his mouth widening like a fish. "What- what are you doing?" Jounouchi tried to snarl, but he only sputtered.

Kaiba's arms didn't loosen, but Jounouchi thought he heard the brunet chuckle. "Katsuya, you idiot. I love you, too."

Jounouchi's eyes widened at Kaiba's words, but he found enough strength to shove the brunet away. Kaiba didn't seem surprised; he just stayed still as Jounouchi glared at him furiously. "Don't be ridiculous, Kaiba! You're with Yugi now, and you just said you love me?! I'll have you know, Yugi told me that you and he are dating… and I even saw you two kissing yesterday."

Kaiba's face seemed unchanged and he crossed his arms. And then he smirked, "I guess the kiss yesterday made you realize you love me?"

Jounouchi nodded automatically, but then shook his head widely as he blushed furiously. "That's not the problem! The problem is that you are trying to play with my feelings. I-"

"We weren't kissing, Katsuya," Kaiba said, cutting into Jounouchi's words. "We were acting, and just sitting very close when we knew you were coming. But we made sure that, from your view point, you would see what looked like Yugi and I kissing, but we really weren't."

Jounouchi's eyes now went wide. "What?!"

Kaiba still smirked. "If you accuse someone of 'playing with your feelings', then you should say that to Yugi. After all, this was his plan, including me being friendly with your friends, Yugi telling you that I was his boyfriend, and our pretended kissing scene."

"No way... Why did he do that?" Jounouchi's eyes were still as big as they could be, but he trailed off, thinking. "He was happy... He was very happy when you joined our group. That's one thing I could never do for him before. So why-?"

"It was because of me, Jounouchi-kun. Not Kaiba." A voice cut off Jounouchi's question, but it was not Kaiba's voice. Jounouchi froze when he recognized the voice; he turned around to look at the owner of the voice who just spoke. In the room, Jounouchi and Kaiba had been joined by two more people, and the other two looked almost identical.

Jounouchi was still speechless. He saw his best friend standing there, smiling at him. The other one looked like Yugi, but was a little bit taller. He had red eyes, and was wearing the Millennium Puzzle on his chest. Jounouchi stared at him in disbelief; he didn't know if he was hallucinating or not, because that guy looked exactly like Atemu.

"I'm sorry, Jounouchi-kun," Yugi said timidly, while smiling sheepishly, but it was enough to gain Jounouchi's attention. "Because I asked Kaiba for a favor, so I wanted to do something to repay him. Like Kaiba said… it was all my idea."

"What do you mean?" Jounouchi blinked and then stared at his friend dumbly. He couldn't understand what was happening anymore.

Yugi still kept his smile as he walked closer to Jounouchi, Atemu following him closely. Yugi and the other man sat down on the couch where Jounouchi and Kaiba had sat earlier. Kaiba sat down, too, so Jounouchi automatically sat down between Kaiba and Yugi.

"It was all like this," Yugi started explaining slowly. "In a ritual, Atemu returned from Afterlife and received a real body a few days ago. I can't tell you the details of the ritual, because I don't really understand them myself. Then I asked Kaiba to bring Atemu back here from Egypt because Atemu could not return here by himself. And because Kaiba agreed to help me, I offered to help him in return."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "So, Atemu… you came back?" He looked at Atemu. "Permanently?"

"Uh-huh," the formed Pharaoh nodded, smiling. "Kaiba also helped me make identify papers, so everybody will know me as Yugi's cousin. My new name is Muto Yami."

"Wow, congratulations," Jounouchi grinned happily. "You have no idea how sad Yugi was while you were gone, you know," he joked and looked at the two. Yugi's face was as red as a tomato, but he was still smiling happily, with sparkling eyes. Atemu was smiling too, and Jounouchi noticed that Atemu was holding Yugi's hand.

"I know. And I was too… That's why I tried my best to come back, even if it was much later than I had wanted."

Jounouchi laughed; he suddenly remembered Honda's words. "Oh, and you two… are you a couple now?" he asked, grinning as Yugi's face grew redder in the most impossible way. Jounouchi just wanted to tease him even more. Yugi and Atemu nodded in unison.

It was then that Jounouchi felt a hand touching his shoulder. He turned back, and saw Kaiba was looking solemnly at him. Before Jounouchi could react, the brunet pulled him close to his body. "Now do you understand everything between Yugi and me? I love you, not him. Yugi was only trying to make you realize your feelings for me."

It was Jounouchi's turn to blush brilliantly, especially when he remembered how he had broken down in front of Kaiba in the most uncool way. Things had changed too fast for Jounouchi's brain, and now he didn't know how to respond. He said the first thing on his mind. "It was… I don't know… unexpected?" He dropped his eyes onto the carpet, but then looked back at Yugi. "But how did you know that I… uhm… have feelings for Kaiba? And even Honda knew." Jounouchi was unsure if he should feel embarrassed, since his friends had read his mind like an open book, and yet he didn't understand it for himself.

Yugi chuckled, "It's because you are too selfless, Jounouchi-kun. You care for people around you, but not for yourself. And I'm really sorry that, because of me, you felt unwanted and had decided to move away for my happiness. Will you stay, now that everything is solved?"

With Yugi's words, Jounouchi remembered that he had planned to move in with his father. He rolled his eyes, and thanked Honda silently for making him see Kaiba before he mailed anything. After all, now that he's learned everything, there is no reason for him to leave. He loved his friends and wanted to be with them, and now he knew that his love for Kaiba was returned. He felt happy for the first time in a long time; he really couldn't remember the last time he was this happy.

Jounouchi nodded and felt Kaiba's hold on his waist tighten. He hesitated, but still shyly looked at Kaiba. The young CEO was smiling warmly at him, making Jounouchi want to hug him back. But before he could move, Kaiba's arms had embraced him fully.

Jounouchi smiled as his face was pressed against Kaiba's shoulder. When he felt the embrace loosen a bit, he looked up to see the deep blue eyes were shining. Kaiba was really happy. He had never seen the brunet this happy in the past, not even after all the times he knew Mokuba was safe from any kidnapers.

Without warning, Jounouchi leaned up and brushed his lips against Kaiba's. When he realized what he was doing, he froze and turned away quickly with his cheeks burning. But as he was trying to analyze his thoughts, Jounouchi felt a warm hand caress his face and turn it back to face the man he loved. Kaiba leaned down and kissed him; it was a gentle but firm kiss. He kept pressing on Jounouchi's lips longingly while his arms squeezed his back.

Jounouchi thought he could die in Kaiba's arms like that. He returned Kaiba's kiss slowly, arms unconsciously wrapped around the older teen's back. They shared several kisses for a few minutes before they finally broke apart and continued staring at each other. Both Jounouchi and Kaiba remained smiling. Jounouchi saw Kaiba looking at him lovingly with soft, blue eyes that wanted to melt him, but at the same time he felt the blue eyes had something more behind them. He couldn't tell what it was though.

"Move in with me, Katsuya," Kaiba suddenly spoke in a solemn tone, much to Jounouchi's surprise. He blinked at the brunet in front of him, but failed to reply back. He didn't know how to respond to this sudden offer. While he was stunned, Kaiba seemed to know of his curious thoughts and sighed. "I don't want to see you like this anymore. You know… working three jobs to pay the bills and fees. I don't want to see you exhausted and passing out at school from lack of sleep. And you know how light you are now? I remember clearly how much heavier you were when you lost your soul to Dartz nearly a year ago. If you move in with me, you could cut down on your work hours and have more free time with your friends." Then the brunet added after a pause, "And… with me."

Jounouchi blinked once again and smiled, but shook his head. "Sorry Kai-Seto. I would love to, but I think I need time to consider it. It's very sudden. Besides, many things happened in one day. I really need time to adjust to them," he said gently and removed his hands from Kaiba's back.

The young CEO seemed displeased but didn't say anything. He just nodded and smiled, then kissed Jounouchi on his forehead. "I understand."

The smaller teen blushed, but still smiled happily. He could feel his friends looking at him and they were smiling too. In that moment, he felt nothing could make him worry anymore. He closed his eyes and let himself fall onto Kaiba's chest, feeling the arms of his lover immediately tighten around his body. He knew there would be many things he had to deal with later, but he didn't care about it right now. After all, he now had Kaiba with him, so he believed everything would be okay.

.

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_**-End-**_

* * *

(*) Jounouchi met Kaiba's butler once in the manga in Death-T, but since this fan fiction is based on the anime, there was no Death-T, so Jounouchi has never met this guy before.

The main story ends at this chapter, but I still have one more extra chapter to go. However I don't please with that chapter and think I should fix it a lots before I could post it in, so it would take a while.


	5. Chapter 5

**For Friends**

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**-o0o-**

**Chapter 5**

Kaiba Seto hated Mutou Yugi.

Kaiba knew he respected Yugi and his skill at playing Duel Monsters, but aside from that, he really didn't want to have anything to do with Yugi. The only thing that kept his eyes on his rival was the blond one who always stayed next to him, Jounouchi Katsuya. Kaiba would have stayed in America and never come back if not for this blond duelist. He liked to tease Jounouchi and hoped it would make Jounouchi notice him, but realized in the end that Jounouchi only hated him deeper. And it was not the kind of hate Kaiba had for Yugi, but more like pure fury that fueled his hatred.

Kaiba hated Yugi, but no, it was more like jealousy than hate. He saw Jounouchi always at Yugi's side, ready to do anything to make Yugi happy. After Atemu went to the Afterlife, Kaiba left them and went back to America; but when his work in America was done (and it was finished faster than he has expected), he came back to Domino and continued with his schedules as before. He went to school, went to work- where everything was much easier. He enjoyed seeing and watching Jounouchi at school, but really felt annoyed every time Yugi asked him to eat lunch with them or attempted to befriend him. He could sense Jounouchi's loathing for him; in fact, Jounouchi did not bother to hide his happy face when Kaiba refused Yugi's attempts, and that really made the CEO hurt a little bit. He wished he could be with Jounouchi, but he really didn't know how, and he could see that the way he treated Jounouchi only made him hate Kaiba more.

And that was why he hated Yugi. The smaller duelist seemed very depressed since Kaiba came back and lacked his cheerful and fighting spirit at playing Duel Monsters that he had before. Kaiba had challenged Yugi a few times and actually even won once, but he did not feel satisfied about claiming that as a victory, since Yugi did not put his heart into the duel. Kaiba saw Jounouchi always at Yugi's side, trying everything to make Yugi smile again, but no such luck. Yugi did smile, but he was not truly happy. Kaiba saw the way Jounouchi cared for Yugi and concluded it was much deeper than just friendship. Kaiba dreamed of a day when Jounouchi would look at him and smile like he did at Yugi, or at least, without hatred on his face toward Kaiba, but he knew that was impossible.

As Kaiba was thinking about Jounouchi, he was interrupted by the buzz of his phone, and then Isono's voice on the other end told him that Yugi was here and had asked to meet with him. The young CEO frowned; never in his life had Yugi came to find him. He asked Isono if there were any other friends with Yugi, but surprisingly, Yugi had come alone. Yugi wanted to with meet him alone? What the heck did the smaller teen want?

Kaiba thought for a second and told Isono to let Yugi into his office, and in less than a minute the small duelist had appeared before him. Kaiba looked at Yugi in surprise. On Yugi's face was a very happy expression that Kaiba had never seen, at least not in his's memory. The cheerful face only made he hate Yugi even more.

"Yugi," He said coldly. "What do you want?"

"Kaiba," Yugi replied, still having a big smile on his childish face. "I've come here to ask you for a favor." He came straight to the point as Kaiba had wanted, but Yugi's answer only made Kaiba's eyebrows twist together darkly.

"What made you think I would want to help you?"

"Because in return, I will help you with something that you want," Yugi retorted immediately, not with his normally shy voice, but with a very certain and strong voice; Kaiba almost thought the one standing in front of him was Atemu, not Yugi.

"And, pray tell… what do you think I want, and you how can you give it to me?" Kaiba asked in a monotone way. He had an urge to throw Yugi out of his office, but he still tried to act politely. After all, Yugi was the only duelist left that he respected.

"Jounouchi-kun." Yugi smirked as Kaiba's eyes widened in surprise; but he hid it quickly and pretended to play it cool. "What do you mean? Why did you mention _bonkotsu_ here?"

"You can't hide it from me, Kaiba-kun," Yugi still kept his smirk. "I know you have feelings for him. It's simple. You help me, and in return, I'll help you get together with Jounouchi-kun."

Kaiba remained silent, not knowing what to reply. He was surprised because Yugi knew of his feelings for Jounouchi, but he didn't let it show on his face. He kept his poker face as he stared at Yugi, seeing the smaller duelist continued to smile. "Then… what do you want from me?"

Yugi didn't reply immediately; he stayed still for a while before stepping closer to Kaiba. "Atemu has returned."

"What?!" Kaiba blinked, unable to progress Yugi's announcement.

"Atemu has returned." Yugi repeated with a slow and serious tone. "But he is in Egypt now, and I wanted to ask you to bring him back here with your airplane. He doesn't have any identity papers, so he can't come back the normal way," he continued in a straight-forward manner. "And, could you help him get identity papers? I think with your power you could do that easily. But you don't have to do that, if you don't want to."

Kaiba blinked in surprise. Atemu was back- if Yugi spoke the truth. The other Yugi… Kaiba's real rival. Kaiba had to admit that Yugi was a great duelist as well, and Kaiba had yet to defeat him (since Kaiba didn't count that one time); but Kaiba still rated Atemu on a higher level even though Atemu had been defeated by Yugi (and Kaiba had seen that duel with his own eyes). Hearing that Atemu had come back made Kaiba feel a little bit excited, but he didn't show it on his face. He just stared at Yugi, seeing the smaller teen looking back at him with a brave face, and not the timid one Kaiba usually saw. Really, how Atemu could make Yugi's demeanor change like that really impressed Kaiba. When Atemu had left, Yugi lost his cheerful expression, and now that Atemu came back, Yugi faced Kaiba without any fear. Suddenly the hatred for Yugi in Kaiba's mind decreased, and he felt the smaller duelist was… awesome. He tried to reject that thought, but couldn't, so he just avoided it.

"Alright! I'll help you bring Atemu back and help him get some identity papers," he said, trying to act nonchalantly. "And about the favor you said you want to return for me… don't you feel that you are betraying Jounouchi? You're not just running to me behind his back, you even want to help hook him up with me?"

"I admit that nobody knows about me coming here," Yugi smiled, but did not seem guilty. "And if you keep the secret about Atemu returning until he finally lands here, I will really appreciate it. I want to surprise my friends. Besides, it would make it easier to help you with Jounouchi."

"I beg your pardon?" He asked sarcastically.

"You have feelings for Jounouchi, I can see that clearly." The small duelist said, ignoring the sarcastic tone of Kaiba. "And I can see it in Jounouchi too, but unfortunately, he doesn't recognize it. He still thinks he hates you."

Kaiba didn't respond when Yugi paused. Yugi then continued, "I'll help you make Jounouchi discover his feeling for you, but you have to do what I tell you. I trust that you could make him happy in the future if you two are together, that's part of the reason I insisted to use it as the returning favor."

The young CEO still did not say anything when Yugi had stopped the second time, and he seemed like he didn't have anything more to say. He waited patiently for Kaiba to think; and Kaiba was thinking… a little doubt grew in his mind and he felt uneasy. He didn't know how the small duelist could read his mind when he had tried his hardest to cover his feelings. He loved Jounouchi and wanted him; he knew that when he had Jounouchi, he would never hurt him or let him go. He only hoped he could have a chance to do that.

But he was surprised. Jounouchi had feeling for him too, but Jounouchi himself didn't realize that? And Yugi did? Kaiba doubted it. In Kaiba's view, the one Jounouchi has feelings for was Yugi, not him. When he looked at Jounouchi, the only thing he saw in his hazel eyes was pure hatred directed at him, not love. Maybe Yugi was insane.

But it was worth a try. After all, he wanted to be with Jounouchi. He was tired of all the insults/teases he gave Jounouchi to make the blond notice him. Besides, he could still stop Yugi's plan if it didn't go as smoothly as he expected.

"I'll try to trust you this time. Don't disappoint me," Kaiba finally said, continuing with, "Then, what's your plan?"

Yugi's smile grew bigger. "It's easy. First, you have to agree to joining my group and becoming our friend. If you can't stand my friends, at least pretend that you do."

.

.

.

Kaiba thought the things Yugi told him to do were ridiculous, but the results surprised him. Being friendly with Yugi's friends was easier than Kaiba had thought, especially when he discovered they were not the idiots Kaiba had always thought them to be. The group now only had Anzu and Honda if he didn't count Yugi and Jounouchi. Bakura went back to England and Otogi had moved to America, but Kaiba accepted that they weren't stupid either, so whether they were here or not didn't really affect Kaiba. Even Honda, Kaiba noted, was proving to be a very sharp guy.

Yugi's friends (and now they were Kaiba's friends, too) had accepted Kaiba into their group easily and opened warmly to him. They made jokes around Kaiba and even invited him to go to the arcade with them after school. But there was a big problem. The one Kaiba wanted the most didn't accept him like the rest. When Jounouchi was told about Kaiba accepting their friendship, Jounouchi seemed displeased, and didn't bother to hide it. He even refused to go to lunch with his friends, knowing Kaiba would be there. When he saw Jounouchi's reaction, Kaiba started to doubt Yugi's plan; but the smaller duelist didn't seem to care and told Kaiba secretly that everything was going according to plan. However, Kaiba didn't see the point of being near Yugi's friends when Jounouchi didn't want to be near him. Even though he could stand Yugi's friends, he thought he would have to give up on the first day.

Kaiba and his new friends went to the arcade and played games, but without Jounouchi. But still, he challenged Yugi and had a fun time with them. He wished one day he could play with Jounouchi like this, but he knew he had to be patient. He learned from his new friends that Jounouchi never had free time to be with them since he worked too much. Kaiba thought he would fix that, too.

The second day after Kaiba agreed to become friend with Yugi's group, nothing seemed to change. Jounouchi still refused him as a friend and still wanted to pick a fight with him. But on that day Kaiba found out that Yugi was being bullied by some seniors. He heard about this before when Jounouchi came back to class with cursing and some wounds on his face and his arms. Before Kaiba didn't know if it was true or not. He threatened them, saying that if they touched Yugi or Jounouchi one more time, he would make their lives a living hell. He had done that all for Jounouchi, because if they picked on Yugi, no doubt Jounouchi would come to rescue him and get into a fight. But when Kaiba and Yugi were coming back to class, Jounouchi appeared to check on Yugi. The way Jounouchi cared for Yugi once more made Kaiba jealous. He tried to be friendly with Jounouchi, only to be rejected by Jounouchi immediately and thrown a threat about walloping him. He wondered about the outcome of Yugi's plan… if it would ever go as he planned.

That night Kaiba's jaw nearly dropped when Yugi informed him that he told Jounouchi that Kaiba and Yugi were a couple. Kaiba felt uncomfortable enough to let Yugi call his given name, and now… When Yugi called him by his first name in front of Jounouchi, Kaiba had used that chance hoping to make Jounouchi call him by his first name too, but the blond immediately refused. Even though it went as Kaiba had expected, he still felt disappointed. And now Yugi had told Jounouchi that they were together…?

"You're insane!" Kaiba looked at Yugi disbelievingly. "Why the hell did you do that?"

"I am doing that to make Jounouchi start to realize his feelings for you," Yugi said in a matter-of-fact tone. "And as I see, it is working very well," he smiled innocently.

"Is he showing any signs of wanting to kill me yet?" Kaiba asked mockingly.

"Nope." Yugi shook his head. "He looked like he was about to cry when I told him that. He didn't say anything against us, though. It seems like he doesn't care if you or me or both of us are gay."

"What if the one he realizes he loves is you?" The young CEO continued to ask annoyingly. Yugi seemed like he enjoyed playing with Jounouchi's mind. And it would be more logical if the one Jounouchi had feeling for was Yugi. After all, Jounouchi always cared for Yugi, no matter what. He didn't know why Yugi was so certain Jounouchi loved Kaiba, and not Yugi.

"He can't love me," Yugi laughed, "because he loves you. Even blind people could see that, and I believe I am not the one Jounouchi loves. You are the only other one that doesn't see that. I really wonder why."

Kaiba rolled his eyes, but still didn't believe what Yugi had said. He wanted to retort back, but couldn't think of anything else, so he decided to change the subject. "If you say so. By the way, I'm done with the identity papers for Atemu. His new name will be Yami Mutou, and he will be known as your cousin. He is getting on the plane now, so if nothing happens, he will land in Domino tomorrow night."

"Really?!" Yugi shouted happily, and he nearly jumped at Kaiba, but quickly restrained himself. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Seto!"

"I would be happy if you don't call me by my first name. But whatever." Kaiba sighed, letting Yugi know that he wanted to stop the conversation now. The small duelist realized it and said goodbye before he left, still very happy with Kaiba's news. Kaiba watched Yugi disappear from his office, then continued wondering when will this thing end, and if Jounouchi would ever have feelings for him, like Yugi said.

.

.

.

Kaiba really loved teasing Jounouchi. Everytime he saw the blond's fury because of him, he would feel a satisfying notion go through his mind. He loved to see Jounouchi's hazel eyes spark and look directly at him without fear; but he also wished to see Jounouchi look at him with soft loving eyes. He just didn't know if that wish would ever come true.

The next day was also Friday and the third day since Kaiba joined Yugi's group. He was starting to get used to staying with Yugi's group and talking with his new friends. He even sat in Jounouchi's normal seat on purpose, knowing Jounouchi would get mad at him. Even though he was Yugi's friend now, it didn't mean he wanted to stop teasing the blond. However, Jounouchi had showed up with a tired faced and went straight to another seat without any argument, and that really made Kaiba feel uneasy. He looked at Jounouchi with worried eyes, but when he saw his new friends looking at him, he couldn't stop from opening his mouth, letting the words he really didn't mean fly out.

"Morning, _bonkotsu_! Aren't you a little bit quiet today?"

He could hear the blond's tired sniff as he growled back at Kaiba while his head was still lying on the table, "Drop it, Kaiba! Didn't I tell you to stop calling me that?" He snapped with eyes half shut, looking so cute that Kaiba just wanted to move close to Jounouchi and pat him on his head.

"I would, if you agree to call me Seto." Kaiba smirked; he could see Anzu and Honda were looking at him oddly, but fortunately they didn't interrupt. He saw Jounouchi's face change, but he couldn't understand what had caused that. Jounouchi still seemed tired and didn't want to respond, so Kaiba was about to drop it to let the blond rest, but he also didn't want to let his new friends know he cared. He eyed Yugi and the smaller duelist immediately understood. "Jounouchi-kun! Seto! Stop!" Yugi cried and Jounouchi then closed his eyes completely. Kaiba smiled at Jounouchi's sign in front of him. But he quickly noticed the weird looks of Anzu and Honda as they called him, so Kaiba turned back to talk with them and let Jounouchi rest. After a while, the teacher came and asked everybody to go to their seats. When Kaiba was about to go back to his seat he saw Jounouchi had stood up, but then he suddenly fell forward. If Kaiba hadn't kept an eye on Jounouchi the whole time, he wouldn't have caught Jounouchi in time.

Yugi and his friends, as well as everybody in class, immediately started to panic; but Kaiba didn't care and just carried Jounouchi out of class after he made a short announcement about taking Jounouchi to the infirmary. He knew Jounouchi was exhausted, and looked paler than usual, but passing out like that definitely wasn't a good sign.

Kaiba hugged Jounouchi tightly in his arms, enjoying the feel of Jounouchi's body pressed closely to his own. When he reached the infirmary, he carefully placed Jounouchi on the bed after informing the doctor about Jounouchi's collapse. He waited for the doctor to examine Jounouchi, and let out a sigh of relief when the doctor said Jounouchi had passed out cold because he needed more sleep; Jounouchi would be back to normal when he woke up later. However, Kaiba still stayed with Jounouchi until the first period ended; he watched Jounouchi sleep without being interrupted by anything.

When Kaiba came back to class, his friends immediately asked him about Jounouchi's state. He explained to them calmly and let the day pass boringly. Many times he wanted to make an excuse to escape from class and go to the infirmary to take care of Jounouchi, but his friends would have suspected, and he didn't want Jounouchi to see him there if the blond woke up. After all, he didn't know whether or not the plan of Yugi would work.

The day passed very slowly, but still came to an end. As the last bell rang, Kaiba wondered if Jounouchi was awake yet and whether he should go to visit the blond or not. But then Yugi dragged him back and informed him that today was Kaiba and Yugi's turn to clean the classroom. Normally, Kaiba never did this, but Yugi seemed to have another reason for Kaiba to stay other than just class duty, so he agreed to stay without any protest.

"Kiss?" Kaiba frowned and looked at Yugi like he just turned into an alien. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Like I said, it's a kiss," Yugi answered with straight face. "Not a real kiss. We just need to act like we are kissing from the door's view."

"And pray tell… why do we have to do that?"

"To make Jounouchi realize his feeling for you, of course," Yugi shrugged. "I bet he has waked up and is walking to this classroom now. He would want to thank you for bringing him to the infirmary, even if he thinks he hates you. Maybe he is about to accept you as a friend now after you helped him. I hate to say that, but the earlier event has helped us very much." He smirked, and one again Kaiba thought of Atemu's smirk.

That was when Kaiba heard the footsteps outside the classroom. He looked at Yugi and saw he was mouthing to him silently, 'Quick! We should act now.' Then he leaned his face on Kaiba's face. Kaiba stayed where he was; he felt strongly uncomfortable with Yugi so close, but he didn't protest. He didn't hear the footsteps anymore, but a muted gasp sounded in the hallway, and then the footsteps hurried away. It seemed like Jounouchi, after seeing this scene, was deeply shocked and ran off. Yugi then let go of Kaiba and looked at the door, smiling. "It really worked, see?"

"I swear, I'll kill you if I find out the one he is in love with is you," Kaiba threatened in a low tone. He still believed that if Jounouchi found out about his own feelings, mostly like he would recognize that he was in love with Yugi, rather than the CEO.

"We'll see." Yugi smiled. "Do you have work tomorrow? Because if I guessed right Jounouchi will come and confess his feelings to you tomorrow. And you said Atemu would be here tonight, right? Then I'll come to your house tomorrow, too. At least I need to be there to explain everything to Jounouchi after he and you are together."

"You are really confident, you know," Kaiba frowned. "How do you know everything is going to work out that way?"

"Because Jounouchi-kun is my best friend and I know him," Yugi said without hesitation. "He is not the one who keeps his feelings hidden very well, so he will want to tell you and hopefully that will make him feel better." He then stood up and grasped his schoolbag. "I'll see you tomorrow, together with Atemu. Bye."

Kaiba sighed as he saw Yugi disappear out of the door. He now really started to feel… awe at the small duelist. He knew Atemu was a special person, but Yugi was more… unexpected. He wondered if the timid Yugi he had seen before was the real Yugi or was it just an act.

That night Isono informed Kaiba that Atemu had returned, but he didn't go to meet Atemu. Indeed, the former Pharaoh went straight to Yugi's house and stayed there. Kaiba didn't need to know if they would come to his mansion tomorrow or not (he had told his butler to let them in if they did come tomorrow); he just kept thinking about whether or not Jounouchi would come like Yugi had predicted.

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Yugi and Atemu did come, just like Yugi had said. And looking at them together reminded Kaiba of the day when Atemu went to the Afterlife. Atemu looked exactly like Yugi, but taller, and his eyes were sharper and having a crimson color. They stayed at Kaiba's mansion and talked together. As Kaiba knew, Yugi still hadn't let his friends know about Atemu's return. He said he would do that later when Kaiba and Jounouchi became an item. With Atemu here, Yugi seemed livelier than he had been in the last few months.

Kaiba waited impatiently all day and started to doubt if Jounouchi would come to his mansion like Yugi had said. He hated to admit it, but he had started to trust Yugi and believed in Yugi's words; but now, with no sigh of Jounouchi, he was starting to panic. What if Jounouchi didn't appear after all? Or what if Jounouchi was really having feelings for Yugi and now hated Kaiba even more than before?

It was nearly dark outside when his butler informed him about Jounouchi's presence. He then stared at Yugi strangely while the smaller duelist was grinning ear to ear. "Atemu and I are going to hide. It's all yours now. Good luck," He said and dragged Atemu out of the room with him. Kaiba still was speechless, but tried to keep his cool as he got ready to greet Jounouchi. He held his breath when he heard the knock at the door, hoping Jounouchi would not greet him with a punch or something like that. When he opened the door, he was greeted by a sheepish blond who was looking nervously at him. Kaiba had to turn away so he wouldn't lose control and hug Jounouchi at that moment, because Jounouchi seemed lost and vulnerable with a face that looked like he wanted to be hugged.

"Katsuya," he said, smirking after he had controlled himself. He saw the blond had shivered a little bit and really enjoyed that. He enjoyed calling Jounouchi's first name, too, since there was no one he had ever known to use Jounouchi's first name. "What made you come all the way to meet me here?"

Jounouchi didn't reply, so Kaiba let into the room and closed the door. One again, when he realized that he and Jounouchi were alone in the same room, the urge to embrace the blond duelist was running through his veins, but he stayed cool. Jounouchi then sat down and opened his mouth.

"Kaiba," was the first word Jounouchi said. Kaiba wanted to tell Jounouchi to call him by his first name, but the blond continued, "I came here to tell you that I…"

Kaiba's heart was beating faster. Was Yugi right after all? Did Jounouchi come here to confess his feeling for him? He stared at Jounouchi patiently, waiting for the golden words to come out of his mouth. The hope rising inside his heart made Kaiba feel excited. But the next words from Jounouchi's mouth were nowhere near anything Kaiba had expected. "I… I'm moving."

"WHAT?!" Kaiba stood up automatically. This wasn't as Yugi told. "You're moving? But why?"

He saw Jounouchi roll his eyes before suddenly blurting out, "I… can't take it anymore. Since you agreed to join our group, my life has… turned upside down. Yugi is happier with your company, and I… was tossed aside. With your friendship, you have replaced me in our group, and my friends seem like they don't need me anymore." His voice was broken and full of pain.

Kaiba couldn't take it anymore so he came close to Jounouchi and grabbed his shoulder before saying angrily, "Don't be ridiculous." He cursed Yugi for making Jounouchi suffer like this, and felt hurt inside because he had joined Yugi's group and made Jounouchi feel that way. "You of all people should know that I can't replace you in your friends' view, no matter what. Damn, do you hate me that much? Can't you accept me as your friend? Or is it all because you can't forgive me for the way I insulted you in the past?"

"I…" He saw Jounouchi wince when he tightened his grip on Jounouchi's shoulder, but the blond didn't meet his eyes. "I… I can't see you as my friend, Kaiba… even if I don't… I don't hate you."

"Then, why?" Kaiba asked, still too angry to control himself. "If you don't want me in your group, I will withdraw from it. It's not like I ever wanted to be part of it in the first place."

Jounouchi's eyes then filled with tears and his body started trembling. He spoke with a shaking, broken tone. "I'm… tired, okay? I'm tired. I was working three jobs at the same time to keep myself here with my friends, since my dad is living far away now. I want to be here with my friends. I want to be here to support Yugi because he's been very upset since Atemu left. I wanted to make him feel better, but I failed. He didn't need me from the beginning, and even now he doesn't need me. No matter what I do for him, he hasn't cheered up again. But then you stepped in… You made him smile again… That was what I could never do for him."

Kaiba felt like a thousand knifes were stabbing him. He… was right. Jounouchi did love Yugi after all. He unconsciously loosened his hand on Jounouchi's shoulder, with his eyes still on Jounouchi's face. "Katsuya…" He muttered, hearing the pain in his own voice. "You… love Yugi that much?"

And to his surprise, Jounouchi shook his head. "No… Not Yugi… I…" Then Jounouchi suddenly looked straight into Kaiba's eyes. "The one I love is… you." The words made Kaiba gasp slightly in disbelief as he removed his hand from Jounouchi's shoulder unconsciously. "I can't bear seeing you with Yugi, since Yugi is my best friend, and you are his boyfriend now. When I discovered I had feelings for you, I felt like I was betraying him. I want you to be mine, and I hate myself for thinking that way. That's why I can't stay here anymore…"

"Katsuya…" Kaiba whispered; he couldn't fight the smile that was spreading on his own face. So Jounouchi loved him after all! Yugi was right. And Jounouchi loved him so much that he wanted to leave because he couldn't bear the thought of Kaiba with his best friend. He felt the happiness filling up his heart and he didn't care about anything anymore. He reached his arms out and pulled Jounouchi into his embrace, the very thing he has wanted to do for such a long time.

"What- what are you doing?" He heard Jounouchi stuttering, but in a very cute voice that made Kaiba want to chuckle. The warmth of Jounouchi's body in his arms made him feel like he was in heaven. "Katsuya, you idiot. I love you, too."

Jounouchi seemed frozen within his arms, but then he suddenly pushed Kaiba away. "Don't be ridiculous, Kaiba! You're with Yugi now, and you just said you love me?! I'll have you know, Yugi told me that you and he are dating… and I even saw you two kissing yesterday."

Now Kaiba really was impressed by Yugi. The King of Games had really planned all of this very well. He smirked, thanking Yugi silently inside his head. "I guess the kiss yesterday made you realize you love me?"

Jounouchi nodded, but then shook his head widely and blushed furiously. "That's not the problem! The problem is that you are trying to play with my feelings. I-"

"We weren't kissing, Katsuya," Kaiba said, cutting off Jounouchi's words. "We were acting, and just sitting very close when we knew you were coming. But we made sure that, from your view point, you would see what looked like Yugi and I kissing, but we really weren't."

Jounouchi's eyes now went wide. "What?!"

Kaiba still smirked. "If you accuse someone of 'playing with your feelings', then you should say that to Yugi. After all, this was his plan, including me being friendly with your friends, Yugi telling you that I was his boyfriend, and our pretended kissing scene." He saw over Jounouchi's shoulder, the door was opening without a sound and Yugi and Atemu were standing there winking at him.

"No way... Why did he do that?" Jounouchi's eyes were still as big as they could be, but he trailed off, thinking. "He was happy... He was very happy when you joined our group. That's one thing I could never do for him before. So why-?" Jounouchi said, his voice trailing off; that's when Atemu decided to speak up, letting Jounouchi notice his presence.

The identical duelists then explained everything to Jounouchi; they also told Jounouchi about them being together. Kaiba looked at Yugi in awe once before turning his full attention on Jounouchi. Jounouchi loved him, and thinking of it making Kaiba smile happily. He embraced Jounouchi again and received a surprising, shy kiss from Jounouchi, but the blond stopped it right away and blushed furiously. Kaiba then kissed Jounouchi, forgetting all about everything else when he felt Jounouchi's arms wrapped around his back. He hugged Jounouchi as close as he could, knowing that from now on, Jounouchi would be his.

That was when Kaiba remembered Jounouchi had told him about working too much; he just couldn't bear that Jounouchi worked so much anymore, so he released Jounouchi, seeing the blond was smiling lovingly at him. He smiled back at Jounouchi before his face changed to serious.

"Move in with me, Katsuya," He asked solemnly, but only received a curious look from his lover. "I don't want to see you like this anymore. You know… working three jobs to pay the bills and fees. I don't want to see you exhausted and passing out at school from lack of sleep. And you know how light you are now? I remember clearly how much heavier you were when you lost your soul to Dartz nearly a year ago. If you move in with me, you could cut down on your work hours and have more free time with your friends." Then he added after a short pause, "And… with me."

Jounouchi then smile softly, but shook his head and refused Kaiba's offer. Kaiba didn't like to be refused, but he already knew Jounouchi wouldn't accept him too easily, even if they were together. That was one thing Kaiba loved about Jounouchi, his independence. The blond was too confident and always stayed strong, but Kaiba wanted to be the one Jounouchi loosened his wall for. He nodded and kissed Jounouchi's forehead, saying that he understood and would wait for Jounouchi to relax, when he was completely sure about being with him. He thought about offering Jounouchi another job at Kaiba Corp; after all there was a job that needed a good duelist as a tester and Kaiba believed Jounouchi would fit in. He also knew Jounouchi would like that job, too.

But he would think about that later. Right now he was happy enough having Jounouchi in his arms. Kaiba smiled when Jounouchi rested his head against his shoulder. With his arms tightly around Jounouchi, he looked up and saw that Yugi and Atemu were smiling at him. He nodded, and for the first time in his life he smiled back at them with deep appreciation, especially for Yugi; he was grateful from the bottom of his heart that Yugi's plan had worked.

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_**-End-**_

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_**A/N:**_ Finally I post the finally chapter of this fanfiction after months I have left it. I really appreciate everyone who have read, followed and favored this fanfiction. Thanks roseofnoonvale and dacing elf for helping me beta it. :)


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